Like some other successful pop and rock producers of the 1960s (particularly in his native Britain), John Schroeder was given the opportunity to record orchestral instrumental records. These were released under several different names, most often the John Schroeder Orchestra, though some were billed to the City of Westminster String Band or Sounds Orchestral. Tracks originally credited to all three of those names are on Soul Coaxing: The Many Moods of John Schroeder, drawn from recordings originally released between 1964 and 1974. This stuff belatedly got some hipster recognition among collectors, but truthfully it's quite erratic easy listening instrumental music (albeit sometimes with muted, distracted-sounding vocals), from the most banal to the most soulfully atmospheric that genre had to offer. There are a lot of easy listening-meets-Swinging London-a-go-go arrangements of contemporary soul, pop, and rock hits, from "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "Back in the U.S.S.R." to "Wichita Lineman," "Spinning Wheel," and "Superstition." Those are the numbers -- mostly grouped on disc one, titled "Soulful Grooves" -- that tend toward the banal, though it's odd indeed that Uriah Heep frontman David Byron provided the lead vocals on "Witchi Tai To" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy." Far more interesting, and original, are the non-pop covers -- sometimes co-written by Schroeder himself, and mostly grouped on disc two, titled "Themes & Dreams -- which have the dramatic and wistful qualities of the better European late-'60s and early-'70s soundtracks. "Soul Coaxing" (actually a cover of a Michel Polnareff tune) has a most appealing combination of mid-tempo piano and high, haunting wordless vocals, for instance. There are some cool off-the-wall touches of Hammond organ and fierce fuzz guitar amidst the orchestral sweep, and some numbers have the devious foreboding quality associated with spy thrillers, though they tend to be on the lush side of that style. If you do go for that kind of thing, "Image" is a real quality effort along those lines, its jazzy stuttering piano dovetailing with gossamer strings.
01 - Mas Que Nada - City Of Westminster String Band -
02 - 25 or 6 to 4 - John Schroeder -
03 - Sunny - John Schroeder -
04 - Soul for Sale - John Schroeder -
05 - Rescue Me - John Schroeder -
06 - Agent Double-O-Soul - John Schroeder -
07 - Sunshine Superman - Sounds Orchestral -
08 - Phoenix City - John Schroeder -
09 - Hungry for Love - John Schroeder -
10 - Summertime - John Schroeder -
11 - Working in the Coal Mine - John Schroeder -
12 - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - John Schroeder -
13 - Spinning Wheel - John Schroeder -
14 - Headband - John Schroeder -
15 - Get Out of My Life Woman - John Schroeder -
16 - Explosive Corrosive Joseph - John Schroeder -
17 - Back in the U.S.S.R. - John Schroeder -
18 - Superstition - Sounds Orchestral -
19 - You've Made Me So Very Happy - John Schroeder -
20 - A Touch of Velvet, A Sting of Brass - City Of Westminster String Band -
21 - Cast Your Fate to the Wind - Sounds Orchestral -
22 - Soul Coaxing - Sounds Orchestral -
1 - One More - Sounds Orchestral -
2 - The Bird Has Flown - John Schroeder -
3 - Soul Trek - John Schroeder -
4 - Lovin' You Girl - John Schroeder -
5 - Wichita Lineman - Sounds Orchestral -
6 - It's Too Late - City Of Westminster String Band -
7 - A Picture of You - John Schroeder -
8 - Coloured Rain - Sounds Orchestral -
9 - Sweet Soul Talk - John Schroeder -
10 - Scarborough Fair - Sounds Orchestral -
11 - Love Is Blue - Sounds Orchestral -
12 - Grow Your Own - John Schroeder -
13 - Le Blon (Beach in the Sun) - City Of Westminster String Band -
14 - Image - Sounds Orchestral -
15 - Smoke Ritual - Sounds Orchestral -
16 - Wana Nene Wana Nana - John Schroeder -
17 - Louie Louie - Sounds Orchestral -
18 - Are We to Blame? - City Of Westminster String Band -
19 - We've Only Just Begun - City Of Westminster String Band -
20 - Day by Day - Sounds Orchestral -
21 - Witchi Tai To - John Schroeder -
